One of the pieces (shown above) was in private collection and has been loaned back to me (and the Thunder Bay Gallery) for this exhibition. As I packed it up, I enjoyed looking at, touching and remembering it.

I love that the Thunder Bay Art Gallery considers me one of their regional artists, even though I moved to Manitoulin over 20 years ago. Canada is a huge country and even though I am now only 6 hours drive time from Toronto instead of the 20 hours I grew up with, I still feel isolated. (if that is possible these days with internet)

Beginning with Time is a response to Canada’s natural grandeur and rawness, specifically the beautiful and powerful rock cuts through Northern Ontario’s Cambrian shield and the tree covered cliffs of the inland fjords found in the Gros Morne area of Newfoundland.

I believe that the intimacy we have with domestic textiles and the tactile nature of cloth has a psychic power.

These 150th celebrations are focusing in on Canada's history - much of it in reference to reparation with the indigionous peoples who lived here before the Europeans. My work is considering what it was like for the settlers who came.Canada in its early days was a dangerous, cold, and lonely place for European women. There must have been a longing for the more refined life and family left behind. Yet I believe that those brave women must also have experienced deep wonder at the immensity and the natural raw beauty of Canada. I feel that they must have looked at the sky a lot.

With my work, I strive to express our emotional and vulnerable inner world. I believe this is what art does best.­